Returning Home: The End of an Era?
Returning back to Scotland after a few years away. What’s changed and what hasn’t?
Bike Ramble - Cycle Adventures on Planet Earth
Returning back to Scotland after a few years away. What’s changed and what hasn’t?
I’m majorly winning at this little game I’ve made for myself. It’s not even difficult any more. And I think that’s the problem.
You might not be able to find what you need in a shop, advertised anywhere or on the internet, but somewhere, somebody “knows a guy.”
Two annoying travellers remind me of how not to travel.
That awkward moment when you get robbed and there’s nothing you can do about it.
The fact that I was in my tent was the only reason it didn’t blow all the way back to Switzerland.
Freiburg rests at the foot of the Black Forest in the south-west of Germany. It’s a medium sized city, founded almost 900 years ago, with cycle paths strewn all over, a high student population and is supposedly one of the warmest and sunniest parts of Germany. Of course, it was raining the whole time we…
Cycling through tiny hamlets, towns and cities – along open countryside, forests, farms, lakes, coastlines, beaches, cliffs, rivers and over mountains – on tarmac, gravel, dirt and mud – in scorching sunshine, clouds, rain, hailstones, thunderstorms and fog. And that’s only half of it. I met hundreds of lovely people, seen some incredible things and…
A surprisingly interesting and very green city, Luxembourg is the heart, and really the only city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with around 100,000 people. Despite the political importance to the EU and the 100+ banks that are based here (contributing to a large part of the country’s wealth), it has a relaxed atmosphere…
Yesterday I accompanied Dave to his work – a bicycle tour guide! Where we both have commutes through heavy traffic, I think my daily cycle to work was somewhat different to Dave’s. Mine – an old tram route across Glasgow, the most interesting sights probably being a small park, the murky waters of the river…
Yip, it’s officially the most terrible pun ever. ‘Nice’ is actually a really nice place. It’s one of the oldest human settlements in the world, dating to at least 300,000 years ago, and could be as old as 2 million. And it’s only been French for the last 150 years, previously belonging to Italy, which is…
Yesterday I cycled the 25km back to Monaco from Nice, pannier free, along the coastal road, instead of the main road. It was one of the best cycles I’ve ever experienced. Not only was it 27 degrees on a quiet Sunday but the surrounding coastline is simply amazing here. The road hugs the cliffs, gently…
From Venice, I cycled across the plains of Northern Italy, The Alps a permanent fixture to my right, quietly ebbing away both east and west until the horizon allows no more. As the sun set behind the small hills overlooking Vicenza, I swapped sunglasses for head-torch and pitched up next to the river for the…
Ahhh, Venice. Well I finally made it here, five days later than I thought. Cold, heavy rain followed me from Ljubljana back to Nova Gorica, but a strong wind was behind me nearly the whole way. My bags like a sail, I managed to confuse a few car drivers when they were overtaken by a…
On Monday morning I woke early to find my way to Ljubljana. I was camping just south of the city and although I was worried when I covertly went to bed that someone might find me and my tent, in the morning only one thing was clear: the fact that I was completely invisible. It’s…
Zadar is a coastal city half way up the coast of Croatia. It would be a quiet place were it not for all the tourists, despite it being the end of the holiday season. This city is far more geared up for the summer tourist as apposed to Zagreb, with ice-cream parlors, fast food and restaurants…
So on my last full day in Zagreb a touring cyclist, Steven, who has travelled from Sweden, found me from my blog and met up with me in the city for some beer and rakija so we could share our cycling experiences. It turns out we were both leaving the next day and so he…
So two days here slowly turned into 2 weeks. The staff at City Centre Hostel are so friendly, I’ve met lots of great people and I’ve had such a good time here it’s really hard to leave. It’s been a nice break for me to just chill out for a while, have a few beers…
Yesterday I had the pleasure of cycling up the mountain Medvednica to the summit, Sljeme. At over 1000m you get a great view over Zagreb. It took me an hour and 20 minutes to reach the top up the winding road. It was worth it. The photos are not so great but you could see…
It’s funny here because I’ve not been to a bar yet where the bar staff haven’t been drinking as well. I would too if I worked 12 hour shifts 6 days a week for very little money. The super-friendly hostel staff invited me out on my first day here and the first bar we went…
I love this place. In fact I don’t really want to leave here. Sure, I spend a lot of time feeling like I’m either melting or on fire but it’s definitely worth it. And today, finally, the air conditioning has been fixed in my room and for once I can’t wait to go to bed.…